Is Roger getting too big for his personalised Nike boots?
Is Roger Federer getting too big for his personalised Nike boots?
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Wednesday, 01, Jul 2009 12:00
Footage of the minutes before the 2008 Wimbledon final started gives a telling insight into the different styles of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Nadal - seeking All England Club glory at the third attempt - is civil as he is interviewed outside his changing room before stepping on court.
Yet, he is already dressed for battle; wearing his familiar sleeveless top, headband and pirate shorts, nostrils involuntarily flaring as if he can scent the grass outside as he answers the TV interviewer's banal questions regarding how he is feeling.
Federer, in contrast, is rocking a different look as he prepares to emulate Bjorn Borg by winning a sixth straight Wimbledon title.
Wearing a bowling club blazer with the letters RF emblazoned on it, he saunters over for his obligatory interview with his hands in the pockets of his cream flannel trousers.
Appearing for all the world like a pre-war cricket captain strolling out for a leisurely coin-toss, the only things missing from the bizarre ensemble seems to be a smoking pipe and a monocle.
Fast-forward nearly a year later and it is Federer who is the first man to step on to the hallowed grass during the 2009 Wimbledon championships - a right traditionally reserved for defending champions.
But he did so only because Nadal, the 2008 champion with the more functional attire and game, has withdrawn from the tournament because of knee problems.
Federer's humbling five-set loss in last year's final might perhaps have signalled a ruthless overhaul of his game and the more showy parts of his wardrobe - a greater desire to go for a no-frills approach, to dress like the other players as if to emphasise his new status as hungry challenger rather than regal title holder?
But while the blazer has disappeared, a garish new white multi-pocketed jacket has taken its place in this summer's RF collection.
"Military style," suggested a pundit who has made the seamless transition from losing Davis Cup matches for Britain to being on the BBC's Wimbledon payroll.
"Kind of Michael Jackson-ish," John McEnroe ventured.
"Pretty poncey!" the TV spectators in darkened living rooms across Britain might have been forgiven for exclaiming.
My point is that no one likes a clever clogs - the kid who has all the latest gear at school is often the one who catches the bully's eye in the playground.
And if the Swiss star's attention-seeking garb gives a jealous, lesser-dressed opponent just one or two per cent more motivation, could we see him being stripped of his dignity and taken down a peg or two before the prizes are given out?
Federer's graceful movements and the effortless power of his shot-making are so aesthetically pleasing that he would still be a wonder to behold if he turned out in an ill-fitting PE kit plucked at random from a school changing room's lost property box.
After all, isn't that what the England football team are wearing at the moment?
So, come on Roger, get Mirka to stop lazing about and return the toffs' clothes to the local fancy dress shop.
Some of us only want to see how stylish you are when the ball's in play.
James Christie